shadows rising — • — shaw insight
Shaw got a lot of ‘screentime’ in Shadows Rising, and hidden away in some text we get to learn some tiny details about him, which I will now skim through the book and compile everything from insignificant to flavor text.
(Yes yes, I KNOW the book came out almost 3 years ago now. I don’t care. I love thinking about Mathias Shaw and I didn’t spend all this time hyperfixating on him and collecting very damn detail about him possible for nothing (well, i did, but))
isn’t at all winded after vigorously riding a horse to chase after anduin (prologue, page 4)
doesn’t beat around the bush when it comes to telling anduin whatever it is he needs to. he’s very straightforward, to the point (prologue, page 4)
grows distant at the mention of a horse groom in westfall no older than anduin named marvin. considering shaw had ties in westfall to begin with, this connection he lies about could be anything. (prologue, page 5)
“(...) the poor lad was hardly older than I was. Marvin was his name, I think.”
Shaw was still in the saddle, his expression suddenly distant. “I didn’t know him.”
But Anduin knew better, knew Shaw was holding something back.
“ “[Varian] wasn’t an easy king to serve, but there was satisfaction in the challenge. The same can’t be said for all rulers.” ” (prologue, page 6)
shaw’s shin has been broken before, and causes him pain during the storm on the bold arva (chapter 12, page 113)
Shaw tumbled to the railing, an old break in his shin screwing up tight enough to squeal. They were in for one hell of a storm.
shaw DESPISES sailing. he’d rather be in an office behind a false bookcase with plenty of desk space, it’s all the comfort he requires (chapter 12, page 113)
one way shaw receives covert messages from his spies is through a wind-up mechanical shark, made with gnome technology (chapter 12, page 117)
“ Mathias skimmed the messages quickly. They were written in a code illegible to anyone not trained in his specific style of short-hand. Efficient and cautious. ” (chapter 12, page 118)
shaw pays one agent, krazzet the bishop, in parrots to get intel from him. krazzet was a gambler in freehold, a fact shaw is begrudgingly aware of. i think we as a people, however, need to talk about the fact that he paid the goblin in parrots. (chapter 12, page 120)
shaw is very curious about the “strange and fascinating Flynn Fairwind”, and is unsure he will ever truly understand him thoroughly. he believes he probably doesn’t need to, but the desire is a constant — mostly in part of shaw’s nature to scrape away facades and see what lies beneath. (chapter 17, page 156)
shaw finds flynn’s scent of salt and soap and whiskey “intoxicating” ok i’m not gonna stop thinking about it?? (chapter 17, page 158)
says “blast” in place of “damn”, a headcanon i wrote that’s stuffed in my drafts but now that i’ve reread his dialogue i’m reminded that’s canon. nice. (chapter 17, page 161)
shaw has a knife concealed on a false bottom of his boot (chapter 17, page 163 & chapter 22, page 202)
shaw knows zandali. presumably enough to get him by, but not enough to catch words spoken too quickly (chapter 22, page 203)
“ He had once talked his way out of a headlock during a bar brawl in Dalara. That time it was a gnoll latched around his neck, and if he could reason with a gnoll, he could reason with anyone. ” (chapter 22, page 204)
shaw usually whittles bird statues to keep his hands busy (chapter 22, page 204)
shaw’s idea of a vacation included going to his small cabin in the highlands, sit in the grass, whittle, and work on his birdcalls. he describes his birdcalls as being “pretty good”, but could always be better. (chapter 22, page 204)
“ “You’re right, I shouldn’t go alone, I’m good at that, being alone. Comes natural to me. I was never all that personable— liked watching people, sure, observing, but too many and I just felt... swallowed up, like everyone could see me just fine but I couldn’t see them. I like to be above it all, perched. But I should find a friend.” ” (chapter 22, page 204)
shaw seems to be described as needing to fidget with something to keep his mind focused a couple of times (chapter 22, page 205)
• Usually, he whittled bird statues to keep his hands busy [...]
• Just keep your hands and mind busy.
• Then, Mathias would snap off a piece of grass and play with it, not nervously, but give himself a focus.
“Pathonia Shaw, the Silver Cutpurse”. caught three times for stealing, given the choice by the guard of stormwind to work for them or hang. she made assassinations look like accidents or robberies gone wrong, etc. taught both his mother and him. (chapter 22, page 206)
pathonia wore a grotesque amount of rings, jewels glittering on every knuckle, but on her right ring finger, only wore a tied red string. when he asked what it meant as a kid, she slapped him, so he never asked again. (chapter 22, page 206)
shaw contemplates what his life would be like if he had HIS choice. he felt a true taste of freedom aboard the Bold Arva and with flynn. (chapter 22, page 206)
shaw thinks about flynn’s scent a total of THREE. TIMES.
shaw never accepts anything at face value. when being delivered back to stormwind, he checked the ship for any traps, tricks, explosives, etc. in the four days he sailed, he was also constantly checking to make sure the prize the horde gave them was still there, as if it would somehow disappear at sea. (chapter 30, page 265)
